The effects of music instruction using picture books and creative activities on musical creativity, music aptitude, and reading ability of young children

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a music instruction using picture books and related creative activities on the musical creativity, music aptitude, and reading ability of young children. The subjects for this study were the children from two intact classes of a kindergarten in Seoul, Korea---the 4-year-old class and the 5-year-old class. The children in each class were randomly assigned to the treatment and control groups; one half of the children from each class were randomly assigned to each group. The treatment group (n = 20) experienced music instruction using picture books with related music creative activities for 8 weeks, and the control group (n = 19) received general music classes in which the picture books were read, but children did not engage in creative music activities related to the books. Both groups experienced greeting songs and movement activities at the beginning of class, followed by reading of the books; music instruction following reading of the picture books differed.;One way analysis of covariance tests, using the pretests as the covariate, revealed the following: (a) there was a statistically difference for musical extensiveness, musical flexibility, musical originality, and composite creativity scores (MCTM II) between the two groups with the experimental group achieving a higher score. There was no significant difference for musical syntax; (b) there was a statistically significant difference for the tonal and composite scores of music aptitude (PMMA) between the two groups with the experimental group achieving a higher score. There was no significant difference between the two groups for the rhythm scores; (c) there was a statistically significant difference for reading ability between two groups with the experimental group achieving higher scores; and (d) significant relationships were found among musical creativity, music aptitude, and reading ability. Therefore, music instruction using picture books with related creative activities can support musical creativity, music aptitude, and reading ability by providing opportunities to experience and create with music in various ways.;The researcher administered Webster's Measure of Creative Thinking in Music II (MCTM II), Gordon's Primary Measures of Music Audiation (PMMA), and Sulzby's Emergent Reading Scale to both groups at the beginning and end of instruction. The researcher and two independent judges rated each participant's responses on the MCTM II and Emergent Reading Scale. The PMMA was scored by the researcher.